Engagement of Philip Stegen and Priscille Rasteiro
Mark 16
1 And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
The women referred to in our text, got up very early on Sunday morning to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus. They were concerned about who would roll the stone away from the door. These women had witnessed all the suffering our Lord went through and were very traumatized. However, they made a great mistake in being anxious because our Lord had told them many times beforehand that He would rise from the dead on the third day.
Yes, there are genuine concerns but we must take them to the Lord. We must always cast these anxieties to the Him and refuse to carry them ourselves.
As with the situation of the Lord speaking about His death and resurrection (and the women forgetting what He had said) it may be that He has spoken to you many years ago. Are you still obedient? Are you busy with what He told you to do? If He spoke to you once it is enough.
Jesus is no longer in the grave but is risen. He also wrestled against the forces of hell and against satan himself, and was victor over them all. He emerged with the keys of death and hell. Our resurrected Hero has conquered and is ascended to heaven. His grave is empty!
Peter and John were convinced that Jesus had risen and they remained confident that His body had not been stolen. The grave clothes were tightly wrapped. To remove the body from such clothes one has to cut through the garments (which were heavy with embalming ointment – Jn 19:39 & 40). When Peter entered the tomb he saw that the grave clothes were untouched. Christ had simply emerged from the grave clothes without disturbing them. The stone wasn’t rolled away for Christ to escape. Though it was probably between 3 to 5 tons in weight, Christ had simply walked through it, even as He was able to go through walls after His resurrection. The stone was rolled away as a testimony and for the disciples to see the grave-clothes for themselves.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and earth. If you do not have the resurrected and victorious Christ in your life, then you have the wrong Jesus and you will still meet with Him on Judgement Day.